Research Document - 2001/022

Harvest statistics for beluga whales in Nunavik, 1974-2000.

By Lesage, V., Doidge, D.W., Fibich, R.

Abstract

The Nunavik communities have traditionally hunted beluga along the eastern Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay coasts of northern Quebec. Catch levels by these communities have been monitored over the last twenty-six years, and this report summarises available information on these statistics from 1974 to 2000. Between 1974 and 1986, an average of 243 beluga were harvested annually by the four Hudson Strait communities, whereas 124 and 83 animals were harvested by three communities in eastern Hudson Bay, and five communities in Ungava Bay, respectively. During that period, a decline in beluga harvests was observed in each region, and in several communities, although it occurred later (post 1981) in eastern Hudson Bay than in Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay (post 1978). The location of harvest, some biological samples, and the age, sex and colour composition of catches were provided by hunters for beluga harvested during 1993-2000. Beluga are harvested during summer by the communities of Kuujjuaraapik, Umiujaq, and Inujjuaq in the south-eastern Hudson Bay, and during October by Akulivik and Puvirnituq in the north-eastern Hudson Bay. Hudson Strait communities harvest beluga in the fall and spring when animals move in and out of the Strait. Ungava Bay communities tend to follow the same pattern since the imposition, in 1986, of restrictions on beluga harvests in Ungava Bay. In recent years, Akulivik and Puvirnituq tend to harvest part, or most, of their quota from the Ivujivik area in south-western Hudson Strait, while Ungava Bay communities harvested beluga both from the Ungava Bay and the Quartaq area, in south-eastern Hudson Strait. Depending on region, grey beluga represented 46 to 51% of harvests, and females, 47 to 60% of catches during 1993-2000. The proportion of white males (23-30%) in harvests was near the percentage expected if animals were taken at random (i.e. 25%) during 1995-2000, even though management plans recommended that harvesting be directed towards white males. A comparison of the age frequency distributions of beluga harvested during the mid 1980s and the 1990s, indicates a recent, statistically significant change in the age composition of the harvest. During 1980-1987, the median age of beluga taken by the Nunavik communities was 14 yrs, whereas this value decreased to 9 yrs during 1993-1999. This tendency was even more pronounced for the three southernmost communities of eastern Hudson Bay and the communities from Ungava Bay, with median ages of 8.0 yrs and 8.5 yrs, respectively. The number of beluga sampled from Puvirnituq's harvest during October in south-western Hudson Strait is small (n = 13) but indicates 50% of the harvest is young, aged < 7.5 yrs.

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